Intravenous fluid warming unit

ABSTRACT

A novel intravenous (“IV”) warming unit warms and keeps warm intravenous fluid bags for use at remote sites under arctic conditions. The IV fluid warming unit is made of fabric cut and sewn to form a suitcase-like folding receptacle, or satchel. The satchel has four inside pockets along one inside surface and overlapping webbing on the other inside surface. Chemical heating pads are activated and placed inside the pockets and IV fluid bags placed under the webbing. When the satchel is closed, the chemical heating pads warm and keep warm the IV fluid bags. In use, the satchel is placed on top of the chest of a patient so that the satchel warms the patient from the outside while the warmed IV fluid warms the patient from the inside.

RIGHTS OF THE GOVERNMENT

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government of the United States for all governmental purposeswithout the payment of any royalty.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to emergency medical procedures,and more specifically to maintaining intraveneous fluids at usabletemperatures, particularly at remote sites under arctic conditions.

Intravenous (“IV”) fluids must be kept at usable temperatures, generallyabove 98.6° F. This presents an unusually severe challenge at remotesites in artic conditions. In the past, emergency medical rescuers wouldtry to keep IV fluids warm by putting bags of fluid inside their parkasand attempting to use their body heat to warm the fluids. This wasineffective in that it was difficult to keep the bags from falling outof the parkas and body heat is insufficient to warm the fluids to anideal temperature of 110° F. Another problem was that once an IV isstarted and the IV bag is on a patient's chest, there is no longer aheat source for the fluid because the patient is already cold.Therefore, cold fluid is being delivered to a hypothermic patient,worsening his or her condition.

A commercial IV fluid warmer is available for about $300.00, but itrequires external 120 volt power, which is generally unavailable inremote arctic regions. Another commercial IV fluid warmer is availablefor about $350.00 that is battery operated. Unfortunately, the extremecold of arctic regions substantially reduces the performance ofbatteries, so much so that, for example, in the case of battery-poweredradios, the problem of keeping those radios running is already sodifficult that attempting to keep another battery-powered device inoperation would be more trouble than it is worth. Not only does theextreme cold reduce the life of the batteries, but they are also proneto becoming cold soaked, rendering a radio useless.

This it is seen that there is a need for a self-powered IV fluid warmerthat will successfully warm and keep warm bags of IV fluid at remotesites under arctic conditions.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to providean IV fluid warming unit that warms rapidly and stays warm for a periodof time sufficient to allow use of bags of IV fluid for patient care inextremely cold environments and that does not need an external powersource.

It is a feature of the present invention that it warms and keeps warmseveral IV bags at the same time.

It is another feature of the present invention that it also provideswarmth to the patient from the outside as IV fluid is being supplied towarm the patient from the inside.

It is an advantage of the present invention that it continues to warmspare IV bags as fluid is being supplied to a patient from one of thewarmed IV bags.

It is another advantage of the present invention that it can be made ata very low cost.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent as the description of certainrepresentative embodiments proceeds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a fast and safe apparatus and method forwarming and keeping warm bags of IV fluid at remote sites in arcticconditions. The unique discovery of the present invention is that asealable satchel containing pockets for holding chemical heating padsand webbing for holding corresponding bags of IV fluid next to thepockets provides a fast and safe apparatus for warming and keeping warmbags of IV fluid for use at remote sites under arctic conditions.

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a warmer forintravenous fluids, comprising a flexible satchel, including first andsecond generally rectangular sides, the sides connected along a mutualedge to form a folding seam for closing the two sides together, the twosides and the satchel having corresponding insides and outsides, hookand fabric reclosable fastening strips along at least a portion of theinside of the edges of the first and second sides for securing thesatchel when closed, four pockets sewn onto the inside of the first sidefor holding four chemical heating pads, and web straps over the insideof the second side for holding in place four intravenous fluid bags.

The present invention is also directed to a more broadly describedwarmer for intravenous fluids, comprising a flexible satchel, includingfirst and second sides, the sides connected along a portion of theiredges to form a folding seam for closing the two sides together, the twosides and the satchel having corresponding insides and outsides,reclosable fastening strips along at least a portion of the inside ofthe edges of the first and second sides for securing the satchel whenclosed, a first holder attached to the inside of the first side forholding at least one self-powered heating unit, and a second holderattached to the inside of the second side for holding in place at leastone intravenous fluid bag.

The present invention is further directed to a method for warmingintravenous fluids, comprising the steps of providing a flexiblesatchel, the flexible satchel including first and second generallyrectangular sides, the sides connected along a mutual edge to form afolding seam for closing the two sides together, the two sides and thesatchel having corresponding insides and outsides, reclosable fasteningstrips along at least a portion of the inside of the edges of the firstand second sides for securing the satchel when closed, pockets sewn ontothe inside of the first side for holding one or more chemical heatingpads, and web straps over the inside of the second side for holding inplace one or more intravenous fluid bags, placing at least one activatedchemical heating unit inside the pockets, placing at least oneintravenous fluid bag under the web straps, and closing the first andsecond sides together to bring any chemical heating units into thermalcontact with the intravenous fluid bags.

The present invention is still further directed to a more broadlydescribed method for warming intravenous fluids, comprising the steps ofproviding a flexible satchel, the flexible satchel including first andsecond sides, the sides connected along a portion of their edges to forma folding seam for closing the two sides together, the two sides and thesatchel having corresponding insides and outsides, reclosable fasteningstrips along at least a portion of the inside of the edges of the firstand second sides for securing the satchel when closed, a first holderattached to the inside of the first side for holding at least oneself-powered heating unit and a second holder attached to the inside ofthe second side for holding in place at least one intravenous fluid bag,placing at least one self-powered heating unit inside the first holder,placing at least one intravenous fluid bag inside the second holder, andclosing the first and second sides together to bring any self-poweredheating units into thermal contact with any intravenous fluid bags.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be more clearly understood from a reading ofthe following detailed description-in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing wherein FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an intravenous fluidwarming unit made according to the teachings of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a perspectiveview of an intravenous fluid warming unit 10 in its open position. IVfluid warming unit 10 is made of nylon fabric cut and sewn to form asatchel, or suitcase-like folding receptacle. The dimensions of IV fluidwarming unit 10 are, when folded, about eighteen inches along length 12and about sixteen inches along length 14. IV fluid warming unit 10includes four sets of overlapping nylon or elastic web straps 16 forholding four IV bags and four pockets 18 for holding four chemicalheating pads. VELCRO strips 20 and 22 surround IV fluid warming unit 10to secure it when closed. A pair of handles 24 are attached to one sideof IV fluid warming unit 10. Insulation 26 is applied to one side of IVfluid warming unit 10 to help prevent cold reaching the IV bags thoughthe outside of IV fluid warming unit 10. The other side of IV fluidwarming unit 10 is not insulated so that warmth from the chemicalheating pads will help warm a patient when IV fluid warming unit 10 isplaced on top of the patient's chest.

Chemical heating pads are heating pads that supply heat from a chemicalreaction and do not require a separate power source. Preferred chemicalheating pads are water-actuated. Such water-actuated heating pads arecommonly available based on a variety of different exothermic chemicalreactions. A preferred example of such a water-actuated chemical heatingpad is a chemical heating pad used by the military. They aremanufactured by Truetech, Inc., in Riverhead, N.Y., and have beenavailable under National Stock Number (“NSN”) 6530-00-786-4273. Thesechemical heating pads contain a white powder and, after introduction ofwater and then mixing, will produce heat for up to eight hoursunaffected by arctic conditions. A particular advantage of thesechemical heating pads is that they are reusable. Another possiblechemical heating pad for use with the present invention, although notreusable, would be a self-powered heating pad commonly available forskiing and other winter sports which uses rapid oxidation, or rusting,of iron wool or iron shavings as the exothermic chemical reaction.

To use, IV bags should be first prepped to remove all air from insidethe bags. The bags should then be put into infusion cuffs (a standardunit similar to a blood pressure cuff for pressurizing IV bags to forceIV fluid out of the bags under pressure) and secured or strapped downunder web straps 16.

As soon as it is suspected that warmed IV fluid will be needed, thechemical heating pads should be activated by pouring, in the case of NSN6530-00-786-4635 bags, two tablespoons of water into their openings andkneading the pads until they begin to heat. The chemical heating bagsshould then each be placed inside their individual pockets 18 and IVfluid warming unit 10 folded closed using the VELCRO strips 20 and 22.After a patient is inside a sleeping bag, IV fluid warming unit 10 isplaced on the patient's chest and delivery of IV fluid from one of theIV bags begun. The IV tubing will extend between VELCRO strips 20 and22, which will close around the tubing. As little of the IV tubingextending from an IV bag to the patient should be exposed as possible toavoid cooling of the IV fluid as it passes through the exposed tubing.The infusion cuff is then inflated to force IV fluid into the patient'svein since gravity is not being used.

IV fluid warming unit 10 will keep IV fluids at approximately 100-110°F. for up to six to eight hours, depending on the outside temperature.The preferred chemical heating pads are reusable and are generallyunaffected by extreme arctic conditions.

The disclosed intravenous fluid warming unit successfully demonstratesthe advantages of a folding satchel for holding self-powered chemicalheating units in contact with IV bags for use in extremely coldenvironments. Although the disclosed invention is specialized, itsteachings will find application in other areas where medical devicesneed to be brought up to and kept at a particular temperature or inanother physical state in hostile environments.

Those with skill in the art of the invention will readily see othermeans than the described pockets and webbing for holding inside thesatchel heating pads and IV bags. It is understood, therefore, thatthose and other modifications to the invention may be made, as mightoccur to one with skill in the field of this invention, within the scopeof the appended claims. All embodiments contemplated have not been shownin complete detail. Other embodiments may be developed without departingfrom the spirit of this invention or from the scope of the claims.

We claim:
 1. A warmer for intravenous fluids, comprising a flexiblesatchel, including: (a) first and second generally rectangular sides,the sides connected along a mutual edge to form a folding seam forclosing the two sides.-together-, the two sides and the satchel havingcorresponding insides and outsides; (b) hook and fabric reclosablefastening strips along at least a portion of the inside of the edges ofthe first and second sides for securing the satchel when closed; (c)four pockets sewn onto the inside of the first side for holding fourchemical heating pads; and, (d) web straps over the inside of the secondside for holding in place four intravenous fluid bags.
 2. A warmer forintravenous fluids, comprising a flexible satchel, including: (a) firstand second sides, the sides connected along a portion of their edges toform a folding seam for closing the two sides together, the two sidesand the satchel having corresponding insides and outsides; (b)reclosable fastening strips along at least a portion of the inside ofthe edges of the first and second sides for securing the satchel whenclosed; (c) a first holder attached to the inside of the first side forholding at least one self-powered heating unit; and, (d) a second holderattached to the inside of the second side for holding in place at leastone intravenous fluid bag.
 3. A method for warming intravenous fluids,comprising the steps of: (a) providing a flexible satchel, the flexiblesatchel including: (i) first and second generally rectangular sides, thesides connected along a mutual edge to form a folding seam for closingthe two sides together, the two sides and the satchel havingcorresponding insides and outsides; (ii) reclosable fastening stripsalong at least a portion of the inside of the edges of the first andsecond sides for securing the satchel when closed; (iii) pockets sewnonto the inside of the first side for holding one or more chemicalheating pads; and, (iv) web straps over the inside of the second sidefor holding in place one or more intravenous fluid bags; (b) placing atleast one activated chemical heating unit inside the pockets; (c)placing at least one intravenous fluid bag under the web straps; and,(d) closing the first and second sides together to bring any chemicalheating units into thermal contact with the intravenous fluid bags.
 4. Amethod for warming intravenous fluids, comprising the steps of: (a)providing a flexible satchel, the flexible satchel including: (i) firstand second sides, the sides connected along a portion of their edges toform a folding seam for closing the two sides together, the two sidesand the satchel having corresponding insides and outsides; (ii)reclosable fastening strips along at least a portion of the inside ofthe edges of the first and second sides for securing the satchel whenclosed; (iii) a first holder attached to the inside of the first sidefor holding at least one self-powered heating unit; and, (iv) a secondholder attached to the inside of the second side for holding in place atleast one intravenous fluid bag; (b) placing at least one self-poweredheating unit inside the first holder; (c) placing at least oneintravenous fluid bag inside the second holder; and, (d) closing thefirst and second sides together to bring any self-powered heating unitsinto thermal contact with any intravenous fluid bags.